IPL 2024: Irfan Pathan Blames Hardik Pandya’s Slow Strike Rate for Mumbai Indians’ Loss to SRH
Irfan Pathan believes that while others were batting with a strike rate of 200 or better, Hardik Pandya should have also batted at a higher rate.
The former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has slammed Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya for batting with a slow strike rate during the massive 278-run chase against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the recent IPL 2024 match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.
Notably, Mumbai Indians suffered their second consecutive defeat in the IPL 2024, this time against Sunrisers Hyderabad by 31 runs. It was a high-scoring match as SRH put 277 runs on the board, which is the highest ever total in the history of the IPL.
In reply, Mumbai Indians got off to a sensational start, courtesy of quick knocks from Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and later, Tilak Varma, who also scored a spectacular half-century. However, Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya seemed to struggle with the bat, managing only 24 runs from just 20 balls before getting out to a delivery from Jaydev Unadkat.
Taking a dig at Hardik, here’s what Irfan Pathan wrote on X [Formerly Twitter]:
“If the whole team is playing with the strike of 200, Captain can’t bat with the batting strike rate of 120.”
‘Poor Captaincy From Hardik Pandya’ – Irfan Pathan
Additionally, Irfan Pathan also lambasted Hardik Pandya’s leadership, particularly his bowling strategy, highlighting the delayed introduction of Jasprit Bumrah into the attack, allowing Sunrisers Hyderabad to gain momentum.
“The captaincy of Hardik Pandya has been ordinary to say the least. Keeping Bumrah away for too long when the carnage was on was beyond my understanding,” Irfan Pathan wrote in another tweet.
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